[Premium-Rx] Old Nems Clarke 1670-E receiver on eBay

[Terry O']

Most of Nems-Clarke's receivers were sold to missile programs run by 
various branches of the military. However, from the earliest days of 
Clarke Instruments, they sold some radios to scientific organizations 
who used them for research.   A few were also purchased for Comint use 
during the early years of the Cold War.  I don't know how extensive this 
was.  The few bits of evidence I have point to facilities in Germany and 
Scandinavia.

The earliest mentions I've seen of a "Special Purpose Receiver" is in 
the 1955 Nems catalog.  In the 1956 catalog, all of the receivers are in 
a section called Special Purpose Receivers, including models that used 
to carry the label Telemetry Receiver. All of the catalogs from the 
1960s differentiate receivers into Telemetry, Communication, General 
Purpose and Surveillance.

Despite wild claims on eBane of "SigInt Spy Receiver" for a radio 
covered with labels clearly showing it is from White Sand Missile Range, 
the bulk of Nems-Clarke radios were used for missile and later space 
telemetry reception, even ones marked "Special Purpose."  Receiving John 
Glenn's vital signs while he's riding aloft in Project Mercury may not 
be as glamorous to some as a "SigInt Spy" receiver, but they were still 
the best radio technology money could buy and most of the customers used 
them on classified projects.

In short, there is no unique magic or mystery behind the label "Special 
Purpose Radio."   It was just a way of broadening their marketability.

Terry O'
watkins-johnson at terryo.org
http://Watkins-Johnson.terryo.org
http://BlackRadios.terryo.org
Facebook:   BlackRadios & BlackRadioSwap


On 4/20/2020 5:10 AM, George Georgevits wrote:
> Hi All,
>
>   
>
> I stumbled across an old Nems-Clarke
> 1670-E receiver for sale on ePay.
>
>   
>
> I found reference to it in Terry O's
> Nems-Clarke equipment directory. It has
> a frequency range of only 175 to 250MHz,
> and is referred to as a "special purpose
> receiver".
>
>   
>
> Does anyone have any idea what that
> "special purpose" might have been?
>
>   
>
> Cheers,
>
> George Georgevits
>
> VK2KGG
>
>   
>
>   
>
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